#also i'm not offended i'm taking this as somewhat of a compliment i'm just being dry

[bixels]

im gonna be honest sir for the longest time i thought you WERE a beautiful butch lesbian on account of the multitudes of lesbian art and your attire in photos and your lack of pronouns that would suggest otherwise

Sorry to disappoint.

[superman--yoosung]

Hey, I'm kind of new here, nice meeting you.

Can I request a Matchup for Genshin Impact, please?

I'm a straight female and would like to have a adult man as my partner. I go by she/her pronouns.

Personality: I'm rather quiet, very chill and laid back. Somewhat carefree and spontaneous. I'm super honest and open minded.

I'm very stubborn and tough skinned, it's hard to offend me and I never give up.

Beliefs: I think people should be free to be themselves, and do what they want to do without having to be afraid of judgement or shame.

Likes: My hobbies are things you do outside of the house. Going shopping, go for a walk, go to arcade, I'm down for anything.

I also like languages, froggy weather, music, working out, sweets and cats.

Dislike: I'm really scared of dogs, I dislike hot weather and sour foods.

Flaw: I'm a bit antisocial and tend to be blunt, as I always thinks the truth is the best answer.

Vision: I think I would have Cryo as my element, wich would be ironic because I'm sensitive to cold. If anything, I would think that the Archons are playing with me.

Additional: I have a sun tattooed on my left hand and a moon on my right hand, I'm pretty found of them lol. I also have piercings.

Hi, welcome welcome! Hope you're enjoying Fontaine!!

Your matchup is..........................

CHILDE !!

Among the Fatui stationed in Liyue, there are several persons of interest they know to keep their eyes peeled for: the first, of course, being the Harbinger that freely roams the city. Following the many Qixing and Liyue officials, further down the list is a name whose importance belies them, for it is their association with one higher on that list which earns them a spot: that of the 11th Harbinger's beloved.

Though, Tartaglia has made it abundantly clear to his subordinates that her treatment should be second to none, and those found in violation of this unspoken rule are punished accordingly. Nonetheless, most Fatuus have a pleasant working relationship with their Harbinger's lover.

After all, to tame the most reckless and wild member of their ranks is a feat which promises nothing short of unspeakable willpower - and a fighting spirit that can hold even Tartaglia's attention for more than one battle certainly lends itself to this fact.

Fun details:

Despite what many think, you and Childe did not meet through some scuffle or disagreement in battle. You met at the marketplace, and when you saw him deeply conflicted over which toy to choose for Teucer, you hesitantly voiced your own thoughts. This simple act of spontaneity on your part quickly ingratiated you to the Harbinger. He began to seek your opinions out, and later, just your quiet company.

Childe makes it no secret that, from very early on in your friendship, his ultimate goal was to court you. Fine dining, gifts, flirtatious compliments - Childe will pull out all the stops to make those experiences as date-like as possible. The day you agreed to a relationship was the day he was on cloud nine. (For some reason, his subordinates grumble about that day when it comes up - you can only hope he didn't give them too hard a time for it.)

Childe appreciates your laid-back nature. For the most part, it aligns with his own fairly easy-going personality. The two of you will often go with the flow when it comes to going out on the town together. Expect him to buy something silly from a shopping stall because it "reminds him of you" - in reality, he does it to earn a laugh from you, or to see your embarrassed reaction. He can't get enough of surprising you!

The fact that you aren't offended easily is a great boon to your relationship together - because Childe is impulsive, so this could otherwise lead to strife. If Childe takes offense to, or disagrees with, something you've said or done, he will be quick to voice it; likewise, you know to not take it personally when you do the same to him and his reaction is far less calm than yours would be. These conversations mean solutions are found quickly. Childe is not a man who compromises on his morals easily, but most other matters he is willing to bend on, so you two almost always find a good middle ground.

The two of you will often go out to play in the rain. By play, I mean you get to splash in puddles and otherwise enjoy the weather, and Tartaglia happily fights off any hilichurls or other enemies that so much as look in your direction. When the two of you do battle side-by-side, your Freeze reactions are potent. You'll make quick work of your foes, and Childe will be sure to have a towel or two on hand to help dry you off as he finds something warm for you to drink afterwards. Expect many fond memories and equally-frustratinf shenanigans to ensue from these dates!

Childe adores your tattooes. When he wakes from a nightmare about the Abyss, the carding of those inked hands combing through his hair soothingly is what finally gets his racing heart to calm down. The images on them are soothing reminders that there is more in Teyvat than what the Abyss took from him.

Once, a subordinate asked him what he saw in you that earned his affections. He could have listed off over a dozen things: the quiet afternoons in the rain spent sitting by the window, the sound of your laugh echoing in the Northland Bank's high ceiling, the beautiful image you struck enveloped in the thick of battle - but instead, he simply said, "Her determination." You never turned away from something you'd set your sights on, nor did you go back on promises you made. Your will was something unshakeably strong, and not unlike his pursuit of his own ambitions. Still, it was something about the way you set your stance, the way your eyes never dimmed when faced with adversity, that had Ajax absolutely, irrefutably in love with you.

~~I hope you enjoy this! I also thought of Thoma for you, and a few Mondstadters too.

[headlesssamurai]

u fitness freaks dissgust me

not about body positivity r u

I would say I'm "not about" many things which certain sociopolitical cults have expropriated as ideological platforms for the purposes of evangelizing their doctrine far and wide. Excepting Star Wars and Star Trek, I reckon, I'm still into those somewhat, and the preachers won't stop me no matter how hard they try! I'll say, this is interesting though. You see, my blog is, has, and was meant to be a display of things I like, enjoy, find interesting, or just think are cool or funny. I've come learn that some others out there also appreciate such things, and that's a cool feeling. Beyond that, I have no cause, no message to preach, no angle to spin, no jump-point to tesser. While I freely admit to sharing a great deal of photographs from the modeling, film, and pornography industries, I am also conscious that the people depicted within these things are expressions of, effectively, a fantasy world. Thus, and emphatically, one might reasonably call such content no different than say art from comic books or video games. But a lack of reality in something has never kept me from appreciating it, so I share it as I do all things I enjoy. Yet, not everything I share is done so for aesthetics alone, often times characters and their journeys in fiction have meant a great deal to me on a personal level, and helped me struggle through dark stages of my life. As for fitness, however, that's something which is not fantasy at all. It is achievable and realistic, and entirely possible, and it's been something I've appreciated for many years as I believe personal health is something hardly anyone ought take for granted. It's also easy to appreciate for me because it is very, very, very hard work. You can be reasonably certain anyone who is fit has worked themselves to near-death in order to look the way they do. I don't see my own appreciation for this as being arrogantly demeaning toward those who aren't fit. If liking what I like offends you, I consider it unfortunate, but I won't apologize for it either. I'm quite clueless in most social interactions whenever they occur, and I've long given-up attempting to be appealing to anyone in particular. Though I will say, I have no problem with men, women, nor anyone else being enjoyed for their bodies. I may be a wannabe "dollar-store philosopher" (not my quote), but I'm also human, I have a sex drive, and I'm not going lie about what I like just to make others comfortable. Anyhow, thank you for using civil language, and thanks calling me a freak ― I appreciate the compliment.

     侍    headless

[marshmallowprotection]

Hi! Can I please request a match-up?

I'm INFJ. I'm a really shy person, it can take me up to several month or even longer to get used to someone and stop feeling awkward and hesitant. I never know how to start a conversation, and it's a great relief when a person starts talking right away. After I get along with the person, I become really talkative and have an urge to share about my feelings and everything that happens in my life. Also I love listening to other people, and often get offended when they try to hide something from me or do not express their feelings.

I might be bad at showing affection through words and facial expressions so my love language is physical contact. I become extra cuddly and want to touch their hands all the time, even if it's just holding pinkies. Also expect this from the other person, because I don't want them to see me as a clingy nuisance.

However, while being quite hesitant and passive in my life, if I feel comfortable with a person, I can do everything. Dancing in the middle of the street? Okay. Cuddle while lying outside on the ground? Even better. I love quirky people and being myself a crackhead sometimes.

I love staying at home listening to music. Another option is a cafe, I simply feel somewhat anxious staying outside the buildings.

Sometimes I am too polite, too quiet and tend to not step up for myself. People often say that I'm too soft and care about other people too much, to the point of getting in trouble because of it. Also quite too much of an empath.

I love studying foreign languages, and can become too enthusiastic about knew skills, even if I will never use them in future.

I have huge concerns about my body. I'm quite tall, 170 cm, middle sized, and have big breasts. People tend to compliment me, but all of this makes me feel sick about myself and really lowers my self-esteem.

I'm sorry it's too long. I'll be very greatful if you do the match-up! Thank you a lot!

I match you with...

SE Saeran!

You're the kind of person that finds it very important to have your boundaries respected. You don't like people getting into your space unless you say it's okay. Even then, when you have somebody around, you want to know that you can say that you've had enough now and that you would rather have some time to yourself. You want somebody in your life that is able to communicate with you in a healthy way about what makes you feel comfortable and what makes you feel uncomfortable. 

That's why the person that works best for you with somebody that also needs somebody who can communicate these needs. Saeran is the one who is able to understand that more than anyone. He won't overstimulate you, he won't push you into a corner, and he won't tell you to do things that you don't want to do. Just as much as he knows that you won't force him to do anything that he doesn't want to do. You both are much more introverted than most of the people that you interact with. It's easier for the two of you to be able to stay home and not worry about anything. Couch and movies? Yes, you’re both ready do that all weekend. 

So! No worries here! You’ve got a guy on your side that understands what you feel comfortable doing. He will always stand by you and make sure that you feel comfortable... don’t you always do that for him, anyway? It seems like a fair trade for him. 

[multifandomwritings]

Star Wars | Maul having a crush on you would include (general relationship headcanons part 1)

(I started to include this in the Maul relationship headcanons request I got but wanted to split it up. This is kind of part one to that though. Hope you like it!)

- Maul would never want to admit that someone caught his eye, even to himself. If someone suggested as much he would actually sneer at the mere thought of such a thing

- ...Then would proceed to go on for a moment about all your redeeming qualities and how at least someone guessed you, of all people, and not anyone else (and then makes matters worse for himself by trailing off from talking and drifting into thought, just smirking to himself and being generally obvious)

- Stares at you a lot. Mostly because he has no idea what he's doing. He isn't familiar with such feelings (or at least, actually humoring them) so he'd just. Stare at you. Probably with a really intense gaze that would make you a nervous wreck as he tried to sort out what the heck he was feeling

- Would value your opinion a lot. But you'd be one of the few people to make him uneasy (not in a bad way). So anytime he'd go to dramatically monologue in front of everyone else about his schemes, he'd glance over to you just proudly smiling at him, and would completely lose his train of thought and temporarily clam up a bit (you'd also boost his ego a lot with stuff like that though lol)

- Obvious favoritism toward you. Everyone else has to roll their eyes (and/or laugh, but certainly not in front of him) because he'd be in a mood and then the second you came around he'd go from plain menacing to menacing smiles

- I'm sorry but he'd be such a mess around someone he was interested in. He would probably confuse you more than anything else as he wouldn't know whether to attempt to impress you or keep you at arm's length for fear of unfamiliar feelings

- Savage gets secondhand embarrassment (as if he would be any better) watching Maul's attempts at conversation with you. His usual eloquent, dramatic way of speaking would quickly wear off into clumsy, somewhat irritated sounding ramblings as he tried to find things for you to talk about (*nerves*)

- Makes up excuses to see you and interact with you. And then gets super nervous at said interactions. Any contact from you would always leave him kind of flustered, no matter how brief. You'd put him in a good mood but you'd also stir him up a lot

- You're also one of the few people that's allowed to casually touch him in passing. Anyone else would be glared at/have their hands swatted away if they tried to touch his arms/shoulders while talking to him, shake his hand, anything like that. He's even grumpy when someone has to help tend to any wounds and injuries. But if you touch him casually while talking, he'd instantly tense up, trying to pretend like he wasn't only really thinking about the feeling of your hand on him

- You would start to question why everyone else was so intimidated by him just based on how he treated you

- If you were patient he'd eventually admit how he felt, although it would take him a while (A very Mr. Darcy-esque confession, btw. He might offend you a little bit without even meaning to. But if you squint he'd actually be really sweet, in his own way. Pretty words and poetic compliments would be strewn throughout the awkward bluntness of the rest of his little speech)

- However if you were more outgoing and told him how you feel first, he'd be more relieved than he'd admit. And will also be working your words over in his mind for ages, smiling to himself when no one else is around

[lokigodofaces]

Okay, I know this has been said and has been around for years, but I'm annoyed so I'm making a post myself. But I do not understand why people are so convinced fans of male characters just want to sleep with the actor of said male character and/or the character. I've encountered this mostly in regards to Loki and Bucky, but I'm sure this is something that transcends the MCU fandom. And I'm sick and tired of it. So I'm going to dump my feelings here. Sorry if it makes no sense. Feel free to add on if you want to.

You shouldn't assume someone's gender and sexuality. If you talk to a random fan on Tumblr, you don't know who they are. So maybe people should stop assuming the fans of every attractive male character are straight girls (I say straight girls specifically because it is often said explicitly or implicitly that the fans wanting to f*ck characters/actors are fangirls). You could be talking to someone any gender or sexual/romantic/etc orientation. How do you think some of us feel when you "call us out" for being "horny b*tches" when we aren't attracted to men like that? How would you feel if I accused you of wanting to sleep with a person you don't have those desires for? Not great probably. Think of that. It should be basic politeness to not accuse people of crap like that.

People are allowed to be attracted to fictional characters. In fact, the creators probably want people to have some sort of attraction to many characters (there's a reason for gratuitous shirtless scenes). People are attracted to who they're attracted to. Not that big of a deal. So stop acting like it's a crime.

There are different types of attraction and not everyone who is attracted to a character is attracted in every way. Let's take Bucky and Loki as examples. I am not sexually attracted to either, but I am attracted to them in other ways, such as aesthetic attraction and romantic attraction. If I were to, for example, write a post criticizing how Loki looks in Loki, that doesn't mean I'm upset because I don't find him and/or Tom Hiddleston sexy in the series. It means that (for me, personally) I am upset that he doesn't look as good because Loki/Tom are aesthetically pleasing as heck but the costuming, make up, lighting, etc was somehow able to make him look bad. I am personally upset because of my attraction, but also for reasoning outside attraction (why would you make your protagonist look like sh*t?).

Regardless of whether someone has attraction towards a character/actor, they can still have nuanced opinions on that character. Listen, I'm not going to say I'm unbiased. I know for a fact I'm not. I adore my favorite characters and am attracted to a few of them. I know that will affect my views on them at least a bit. But that doesn't mean every opinion I have on them is driven from my attraction. I'm demiromantic, so it's obvious for me. I had to like them before I liked them romantically. But alloromantic allosexuals can have valid opinions on characters regardless of whether they're attracted or not. Listen, compare this to real life. If you've been attracted to someone, you can still have opinions on them unrelated to you're attraction. If you are so blinded by attraction you can't, you need to get that figured out. Regardless of attraction, you can probably come up with some constructive criticism for them and some compliments anyone else would give them. Same thing applies to fictional characters! So does it really matter all that much if someone is attracted to a character they analyze? No, not really. They'll be accurate enough and it's analysis on a fictional character. It's not the end of the world if done wrong. Sure, someone could be so biased they admit no flaw of a character. But I bet you the majority of people attracted to characters can regulate their bias somewhat. Even if it's a, "He's cute, but did kill the dog." And, again, we're talking about fiction. Maybe you shouldn't be so offended by people having attractions/hobbies that don't affect you.

You immediately lose credibility if you're argument against an argument is saying crap about horny fangirls. How is that an argument against a well constructed analysis? Would you do it for a real life person? If I defended my friend, would you "call me out" for wanting to have sex with him? What if he was my husband? Would you "call me out" for thinking he's sexy (in a hypothetical world where I would find anyone sexy)? I certainly hope not. It's not a good argument, and once you use it you just become irritating.

Take a second and think about it. Have you seen people accusing men of wanting to have sex with female characters/actresses? I mean, it definitely happens. And maybe I just don't see that side of fandom enough, but in my experience it happens way more when the actor/character is a man. So are you saying women primarily are in fandom for the sake of hot men? You might not be thinking that, or realize you are, but recognize the implications. If you think every woman's favorite character is her favorite because of daydreams of sex, that's an issue. Because not everything is about sex for women. Women aren't shallow viewers. Women love their favorite characters. They might have daydreams of sex, it's entirely possible. But as mentioned before, that doesn't lower the amount they can critically consume media or analyze characters.

Dude, if you don't like a character, actor, or the content they come from, whatever. No one cares. You don't have to try to argue that fans are horny to not like it. Write your own posts about how you feel. Don't harass anyone who does like it. This is basic knowledge on online interaction.

Every time I've seen the "argument" that "you just want to be in bed with X," it's after a post about sensitive plot points. If I say I don't like parts of The Falcon and the Winter Solider because they portrayed Bucky's very poorly, essentially saying he was never a victim to Hydra and had to atone for "his" sins, that is the type of post that would get stuff about me wanting to sleep with Bucky. If I mention queerphobia, racism, or say the content has harmful things, then clearly I just want to f*ck the character and/or actor and am defending him. You see why I'm suspicious of these people? What's you're problem with me being concerned about the portrayal of mental health treatment?

Even if someone only ever makes content about how much they think X is sexy, it doesn't mean they're lesser fans. They just really like X sexually. They probably have lots of opinions they just don't share. People are allowed to choose which opinions to share.

...I got nothing else but would've been annoyed to end on #9 (unfortunately I'm like that). So let me tell you to just STOP with "calling people out" for finding X sexy. It makes you look stupid, it's rude, and it has no relevance.

[levihantrash]

Priorities

For Levihan week Aug 2021 Day 2 prompt: confessions

Also based on a cute ass tumblr prompt by @sanothebreadpup <3 hope you like it!!

Summary: It’s been a while since Hange wanted to confess, but their to-do list was too goddamn long. Erwin suggested going to Levi for advice on managing prioritises. Instead, they asked Levi if he wanted to bake… for a titan.

note: no smut but lots of spicy poetic touching

cross-posted on ao3 🤪

-----

Hange wanted to confess. It had been months since they knew that their best friend status with Levi could potentially be tweaked to include just a bit more romance, and they knew they had to be the one to take that step. As much as Levi was quick-witted on the battlefield, he wasn’t quite the risk-taker in ordinary settings. In fact, Hange figured Levi would sip tea beside them until he was greying and would probably be as content with the arrangement.

Hange wanted to confess, but their to-do list was too goddamn long.

Out-of-the-blue, though characteristically charismatic, Erwin gave the soldiers a pep-talk on how they need to know what to prioritise (i.e., humanity's victory).

Inspired, though the speech’s intended audience was clearly for new recruits, Hange tried to prioritise their tasks. Within a day, they got overwhelmed, the list being more of a reason for delay than for action. Moblit, well-meaning as always, tried to get Hange to focus on one at a time but that was unthinkable to them. One at a time meant that the confession would never happen. There was too much to research. Too much at stake. Too much for one inconsequential confession.

Unknowingly, Erwin saw Hange wringing their hands, muttering to themselves in the dining hall.

“What’s wrong?”

“I just can’t prioritise the important stuff,” Hange grumbled. Perking up at the mention of priorities, Erwin advised Hange to seek Levi’s guidance.

“Levi only does one thing at a time once he sets his heart on it.”

Eager for a chance encounter with someone they technically already hung out with on most days, Hange asked Levi for help. More accurately, in perhaps the most roundabout manner, they asked Levi if he wanted to bake… for a titan.

“For research,” Hange said, almost convinced by their own performance.

“You can do that yourself,” Levi said reasonably.

While starting a task was horrendously difficult, Hange was not one to give up once they began on one.

“You’re the only one here who can bake.”

Eyes narrowed, arms folded, Levi was not buying the compliment. He had a pile of papers left to read. Hange’s whims could be settled by someone with more well-matched interests and time management.

“Go ask Petra.”

Hovering nearby with another paper for her captain to sign, Petra noticed Hauge's crestfallen face.

“It’s not about the baking being done but who Hange is doing the baking with,” Petra whispered, as discreetly as she could.

"I'm busy," Levi said, loud enough for Hange to hear, heedless of Petra’s input.

“Alright.” Hange sighed, internally fuming that they should’ve found a more legitimate excuse. Bluff out something like Erwin’s orders. Levi followed Erwin’s orders without question. Hange’s requests were dealt with more scepticism. Not that Hange had the best track record of requests.

In the end, Hange prepared the baking supplies, because even if titans couldn’t stomach cake, it was an experimental endeavour. Practically speaking, they could give some baked goods to the juniors. Maybe even gift some to Levi.

Stumbling into the kitchen with too many ingredients in hand, they found Levi leaning against the entrance looking positively sullen. Upon spotting Hange, his face morphed into a more acceptable, neutral expression, nodding towards them.

"I thought you were busy!"

Levi shrugged, grabbing some of the ingredients from their arms. "I was. Didn't you want to bake?"

“I guess?”

The sudden change of mind was too abrupt for Hange to wrap their head around. A hopeful glow had unfortunately begun growing in them. Levi was being exceptionally nice today. No doubt that he was usually nice. Just not will-bake-for-your-titans kind of nice.

"Erwin said that you are really good at prioritising tasks,” Hange said, slowly digging through the cabinets for the utensils.

"Huh. Let me guess—he wants you to learn from me."

Hange scratched their head absent-mindedly. "He did tell me to ask you."

"I'm not actually very good at sticking to a task,” Levi admitted, wondering where in hell Erwin got the idea that he was focused. If he were, the paperwork would have been submitted, instead of lying around, flapping aimlessly in the wind before Petra (and Oluo) offered their generous help. He refused—every time. Levi was simply good at keeping a blank face and reporting to Erwin that he needed more time, which Erwin must have mistaken as a sign of seriousness than a sign of procrastination.

“You are! You finished work before coming have, didn't you?”

Levi didn’t breathe out a word, silently pouring through the book of recipes.

"What do you want to bake?"

Hange didn’t mind his lack of response, pondering over his poor cover-up question. "Something easy. What about bread?"

"Bread isn’t easy."

Difficulties translated into the promise of adventure for Hange. Pumped up, Hange prodded at the picture of an unremarkable loaf of chocolate banana bread.

"Let's do it anyway!"

“Suit yourself.”

-----

The small touches were the ones that were hardest to ignore. Hange felt the accidental-deliberate brush of Levi’s elbow when he reached over to choose an ingredient. Other times, he guided their hand with the right amount of strength for stirring the batter. His fingers over their stirring hand were firm and reassuring.

“You’re stirring too fast,” Levi said patiently.

“You’re distracting me,” Hange replied half-heartedly.

“Oh, am I?” The fingers left Hange’s hand. Just as Hange was about to lament their moment of folly in allowing that to happen, the fingers reached out towards their face. Forcing in a breath, Hange felt Levi’s thumb rub out a chocolate stain at the side of their lip.

“How did the chocolate get there?” Levi murmured, more to himself than to them.

“I was snacking on some of the chocolate bits a while ago…” Hange said cheekily, licking the side of their lips only to realise that Levi’s thumb was still there. Their tongue brushed his finger, and in that contact, Hange was ready to collapse from self-generated sexual tension.

Though his eyes widened noticeably, Levi quickly resumed his blasé expression. Rubbing the rest of the stain out, he walked to the tap to wash his hands. There was some hesitation, before he hurriedly turned on the tap, letting the water run for two seconds over his hands before going back to his position next to Hange.

Unsure as to whether to be offended or pleased by the sight of Levi cleaning the evidence of their encounter with such carelessness, Hange busied themselves with breaking eggs and separating yolk. If it had been Levi with a finger lined with fudge, Hange would’ve licked it spotless. With permission, of course.

To pay him back in kind, Hange plotted their own routine of touch as well. The touches became bolder, starting innocently enough. From casually brushing away hair that was poking Levi’s eye, to going behind Levi who was busy slicing up bananas and placing both hands on the counter. Their arms were now on either side of him, conveniently taller than him so that their head could peer right over his shoulder. The cutting didn’t cease—it only got more rapid, the bananas becoming neat circles in a matter of seconds. Hange let out an impressed whistle, hands not leaving the counter.

“Stop distracting me.”

“Oh, am I?”

One drop of the knife, and a swift turn later, Levi found himself staring straight into Hange’s bright, beautiful, heavily eye-bagged orbs.

"Hange, do you know why I'm in the kitchen at 2am baking for some shit-brained monsters?"

“Titans don’t have—”

“Because I have priorities.” Levi interrupted, not allowing Hange to clarify what the physical anatomy of titan subjects entailed.

Hange blinked, maintaining an oblivious exterior. “Your priorities include titan research?”

“You know what I was going to say.”

“Somewhat. I want to hear you say it out loud, though.”

Grimacing, he concentrated his gaze on Hange’s collar instead. Skin flushed, collarbones peeking out mischievously. Bad idea.

“You little shit.”

Their laugh was quieter, milder than the ones they let out on other days. “My favourite little shit! So what are your priorities?”

“Wiping the blades. Cleaning the toilet. Dusting under the tables. Doing laundry. Having enough tea. Baking with a scientist who thinks—”

Hange pressed a gentle hand on his mouth. “I get it.”

“Which part do you get?” Levi asked, enjoying the fact that when he moved his lips, they grazed Hange’s palm. How would it be like to replace that hand with their mouth?

“That you like me.” Hange grinned, tugging Levi by the straps of his apron just a bit closer.

An unexpected flash of clumsiness made Levi knock down the bag of flour, spilling it onto the floor. The fall clouded up the vicinity in white dust. Gaining confidence with obscured vision, Hange held the back of Levi’s head, tracing his undercut, admiring how his immaculately combed hair had come undone. An attractively dishevelled mess. Hange was in no hurry. Yet.

Levi, in a spur of restlessness, looked up at Hange questioningly. Eyeing their faint smirk, he tilted his head sideways, watching carefully for any sign of reluctance. An impatient “are you going to kiss me or not” from Hange; a straightforward command was what he needed to hear. No time was wasted pulling Hange into an urgent, searing kiss. Backed against the counter, hands cupping Hange’s face, Levi devoured the sensation. The taste of sugar, fruit, flour, and chocolate clung onto the entwinement, as Hange breathily pressed up against him. Erwin had warned them both. Love in the military meant the threat of loss. The possibility of sorrow. As he felt the rumble of Hange’s satisfying groan beneath his lips sending an unprecedented warmth through his body, he was certain. He would have loved Hange whether he kissed them or not. Death would happen, whether or not Hange rubbed his waist in soothing, awe-inspiring strokes. Right now, he would die in absolute bliss.

To be honest, Hange would’ve been disappointed if they didn’t end up fucking, or at least, aggressively kissing eventually. Erwin’s advice was only a stronger reminder that Hange was never one to be conservative. They loved Levi, as a comrade, as a friend, as the person whom they would kill for, if it meant saving his life. Still, having Levi sneak a hand into the bareness of their back, sucking their neck with a hot tenderness that made their head spin, they knew that chastity and platonic hugging could not be the only option.

“We should’ve done this sooner,” Hange said, peeling away his jacket.

“Couldn’t tell when the right time was,” Levi said, starting on the buttons of Hange’s shirt.

The door creaked open.

“This is your idea of asking Levi for help?” Erwin said, a thick eyebrow raised as he surveyed the mess.

With some willpower, he stopped unbuttoning Hange’s shirt. Lightly pushing Hange away, Levi straightened up, less than pleased with the interruption.

“Erwin, you better have something worthwhile to say if you—”

“I’ll clean this up.” Erwin, fully recovered from his shock, was beaming.

“Huh?”

“It’s about time,” Erwin said, with the proud sincerity of an unwitting matchmaker, gesturing towards the door.

“We owe you one, Erwin!” Hange waved at him on the way out, while Levi cast him a grateful, wary glance. With his hand was secure on their back, and Hange’s arm wrapped around his shoulders, there was no care for an audience. Only the smell of baked goods and unfinished business fuelled their steps towards a private space. A place where they would end up in each other’s arms—spent, sweaty, and deliriously at peace.

[sepublic]

Hey! Hope I'm not bothering you, but since you already did an excellent take of Luz meeting the Amphibia girls, I'd love to hear your thoughts on what would happen if Amity were to ever meet Sasha.

           I’m honestly VERY flattered by this ask, this is such a fun one to me and admittedly I went overboard answering this… But I appreciate the compliment, it means a lot, and I myself love YOUR answers to asks regarding Amphibia!

           Sasha and Amity are definitely interesting characters to me! I think one of the key differences between the two, when it comes to either the ‘real’ Amity, or the cold façade she puts up…

           …It’s that she’s really not much for social interaction. I’m sure part of the reason is to keep up appearances of being an elitist Blight who has ‘high standards’ and whatnot regarding who she hangs out with, and her own trauma after the Willow incident definitely encourages Amity to not reach out in general, but. Even without her parents’ elitist abuse, she honestly gives me vibes of someone who’d prefer to mind their own business? That cold façade or not, she doesn’t really actively seek confrontation, and would rather mind her own business; Around Boscha and the others she’s clearly distant and tells them not to bully Willow because there’s no point.

           And with Willow? The one time we DO see her bully Willow, it’s at least implied –through retroactive revelations- that Amity may have legit been trying to reconnect with her friend, and/or didn’t realize how condescending she was being; Or at least, she THOUGHT what she was saying would actually encourage Willow to be better. She’s definitely internalized a lot of toxicity from her parents and siblings.

          Obviously Luz is helping with that, but in the end- Amity comes across as someone who would rather be left alone. If she feels like she’s being attacked or having her space invaded, she WILL retaliate… But again, she just wants to mind her own business and wishes for others to do the same. She only lets in a select few individuals who can really earn her trust, and that trust is something carefully earned and requires a lot of emotional navigation.

           Sasha is different- She’s very much a social person! Whilst Amity will snap and get right to the point, that NO, she does not like you… And when Amity DOES have to hang around others, she puts in the bare minimum of interaction and is clearly cold and distant otherwise; Sasha seems to prefer diplomacy! It’s one of the first things we see about her character, in contrast to Grime… Even if she’s annoyed by someone, she’s learned that honey attracts flies, not vinegar! Sasha doesn’t resort to confrontation or putting her foot down, unless she feels like she’s been specifically ‘pushed’ to that point.

           Not to mention, she very much seeks out people and friends! Sasha loves her social interaction, and while there’s some potential speculation on how her homelife may have contributed to this… This girl has to surround herself with other people to thrive, she gets energy from social interaction! She’s popular back at school, and captain of the cheerleading squad, which we know Sasha and Marcy aren’t members of- So that involves a close leadership and sway over a whole ‘nother group of classmates.

          Obviously a part of her is intrigued on what she can get from others, as seen with the Toads… But in general, I think Sasha does enjoy the feeling of getting to know others, and being loved, or at least adored! When she’s unhappy with Maggie, she makes a point to be diplomatic about the situation… And when Maggie continues pushing her, Sasha gives her another chance, but also adds onto the pressure by threatening to not invite Maggie. So there’s this idea of surrounding herself with others to maintain a sense of control, a certain possessiveness to Sasha here.

           Ultimately… I don’t think they’d really get along, alas! Even if it’s Amity as of now, or when we first see her, interacting with either Sasha pre or post-character development… These two likely wouldn’t get off to a good start! I see only Sasha making the first move; She’s a social butterfly and wants to get to know people, it’s good to make connections so you can utilize them! And this Amity Blight, she’s clearly talented and Top Student, she seems pretty cool! Sasha would likely offer herself up, maybe offer to buy lunch for her, hang out, etc.

           But Amity? Amity’s used to people like Boscha. She’s going to see the similarities. And even if she doesn’t? Well, Amity comes across to me as the kind of person, who… When she’s approached by others, her mind immediately fires on all cylinders as she starts desperately trying to figure out what this person wants, why they’re here, what their goal is, etc.! She can’t really imagine people wanting to get to know her just because… Again, not only because her abuse conditioned Amity to see others –herself included- only in terms of what they can do for others, but also because I think she just doesn’t understand social cues all too well.

           Amity would very much be on the defensive; She’d see Sasha coming in and reflexively put her walls up, become cold and put on a façade. She wouldn’t immediately snap at Sasha, but she’d definitely try to get the point across as subly as she can. The thing about Sasha to me is that she has both exterior and ulterior motives, simultaneously. When Sasha keeps pressing, Amity will likely reach a point where she just exhales, gets blunt, and asks Sasha what she wants and why she’s here, and to just ask or leave!

           And, Sasha will be surprised! She’ll be taken aback, but I don’t think she’ll take it personally- She’ll forgive Amity for the bluntness and try to assume the best before all else. I can see Sasha perhaps saying a thing or two, joking around, and Amity interprets it literally, and gets the impression that Sasha is making fun of her… So Sasha tries to clarify that no, she isn’t making fun of her! She’s being honest, she DOES want to be friends! Maybe she’ll try to laugh it off, tell Amity to relax, but it’s just going to make Amity feel like she’s being patronized.

           I think it’s worth noting that Sasha is friends with Marcy, and while Marcy definitely seems to have more connections with Anne than her… She’s still at least Sasha’s second-best friend, based on how much they hang around. Marcy is Autistic-coded, and to me and many others, Amity is ALSO Autistic-coded as well. If Sasha knows how to humor and handle Marcy’s infodumping and occasionally literal mind, then it’s possible she’d have the experience to navigate Amity.

           Though, Amity is still a VERY different and closed-off person than Marcy. I think a lot of their interaction would be filled with Sasha trying to figure Amity out, see what makes her tick- And Amity is getting all the more uncomfortable and suspicious, because she does NOT like being open or read by others, especially by this girl who probably sees her more as a trophy to collect or whatever… Amity just wants to mind her own business!

           And the thing about Sasha is- She’s also a troublemaker. A bit of a delinquent. She’s totally going to give Amity the same vibes as her older siblings, and that won’t be so great… Even if this is Amity as of the Season Finale, I think she’d still be wary, because she at least KNOWS Ed and Em, but she doesn’t know Sasha. Amity is still a person who’s very beholden to the rules, and unless Sasha specifically ‘proves’ herself to her, she’s going to look down on Sasha’s lack of reverence for school. In particular I think she’d react somewhat negatively to Sasha, should the girl casually dismiss Amity’s desire to study, over hanging out with her.

           And naturally, Sasha is going to get frustrated, she’ll wonder what this Blight girls’ deal is- She’s trying SO hard to be nice and diplomatic, she really is trying to navigate Amity’s ‘eccentricities’! I think she’d sooner just give up and do her own thing, leave Amity be, as the two of them agree to just mind one another’s business and exist separately. I don’t think Sasha would feel the need to specifically step in, especially since Amity isn’t really a friend to begin with, and clearly just wants to be left alone. Sasha only seems to ‘step in’ when she feels she has a certain hold on others, and Amity is far too distant.

           So, Sasha can read the room… She’d approach Amity, want to be friends. Amity gets suspicious and assumes the worst, and even if it’s not the worst she’s just not intrigued in general. Sasha is a troublemaker, and Amity’s trust requires a lot of emotional work and honesty that Sasha isn’t just used to- So Sasha reads the room and leaves, no other questions asked!

           …Although, if Sasha WERE more interested… It’d be interesting if she learned what Amity’s situation is like, specifically with her strict parents. I can’t say much about Sasha’s own upbringing, but given her current scenario as of Toadcatcher and how she’s very much overthrowing the authorities to establish her own rule…

           I think Sasha would try to pull something off similar to Anne (in a scenario where she REALLY wants to get close with Amity), and try to goad Amity into just ignoring her parents, and being her own person! And while her intentions are good and Amity being her own person is a net positive, I think she’d handle it about as constructively as Emira and Edric, and end up just making Amity feel pressured to get into trouble, be far too dismissive and condescending of Amity’s feelings, and cause the girl to feel like she’s being made fun of and all the stuff she looks up to is casually trashed!

           And, Emira and Edric are her siblings. Unless the Blight Parents specifically ask Amity to hang out with Sasha, this girl isn’t going to have any of it; She’s going to snap, and she’ll tell Sasha to back off. And while Sasha might be taken aback and even get a little bit offended, again… She’d rather things go smoothly, and not create unnecessary conflict. I think she’d read the room, and then leave.

          Worst-case scenario, she TRIES to ‘step in’ and exert her influence… But really, Sasha has none over Amity, whose family is considered superior even amongst other noble families, and also she has magic! The girl was the Grudgby Captain for a reason. Sasha is going to recognize the situation and see she’s not wanted, and it’s not worth it- No point getting riled up, this isn’t someone close to her like Anne or Marcy! So again- She leaves! Although…

           This is Sasha prior to Reunion. But as of Toadcatcher, where she’s clearly becoming a lot more blunt about her feelings, a lot more physical and smashing her way through things? Still capable of manipulation, but also doubting her abilities… Amidst her own brief self-reflection over how she treated Anne? Then, depending on exactly what she’s aiming for here (and to be honest my read on Sasha as of Toadcatcher is a little blurry, I think the show is trying to be ambiguous as to her exact headspace given she’s still figuring things out herself)…

           MAYBE Sasha tries to get her way by brute force, but again, I doubt it. Unless it’s something she REALLY specifically needs, I don’t see her picking a fight, because even if she’s getting physically blunt, she’s also being emotionally blunt as well. When it comes to emotions her tactic is to run away and close her eyes, look the other direction- So Sasha is going to deny that this bothers her.

          She’s going to insist that Amity’s constant rejections aren’t getting to her. She’s just going to LEAVE, and let it be! It’s fine, what’re you talking about? And if this is engaging with Amity, as of her character development? Same thing, really… Amity may be a bit less cold and dismissive, a little less elitist- But she’s also learning to prioritize herself and to remove herself from situations she doesn’t like. She’s not going to be ready for Sasha anytime soon, probably not ever!

           Worst-case scenario, Sasha gets a little TOO personal and straight-forward, trying to give advice to Amity on what’ll make her happy- And Amity will snap. Sasha might feel a bit offended, maybe begin to doubt herself and feel like her charisma and ‘touch’ has been waning… but ultimately she’s going to deny her feelings, shrug, and leave Amity be. Both girls will mutually agree to let the other exist in isolation from the other, maybe stepping in if the other is in trouble and somebody else isn’t already there to help.

           …But for fun! Let’s talk about if they WERE friends, by some inexplicable, stroke of fate and circumstance!

           Sasha is definitely going to be someone who’s VERY mindful of how Amity functions, what she likes, what bothers her, that sort of thing! She’ll know Amity’s schedule by heart, and she’ll focus on helping the girl calm down, or be less cold… She’d be a more diplomatic voice for Amity! She’d definitely handle most of Amity’s social interactions for her… In particular, I see Sasha acting as a ‘gatekeeper’, evaluating others who are trying to reach out to Amity, seeing if they’d bother her friend or not; And if so, telling them to get lost, but in a way that’s subtle and casual. But of course, if the person keeps pushing their luck… Well, this is Sasha’s close friend, so she’s going to feel insulted, and eventually she’ll reach a scary point.

           In general, I would see Sasha as someone who can automatically read Amity, and tell whenever she’s in a situation she’s uncomfortable with… So she swoops in and takes Amity’s place, giving her an out and direction the attention to herself! She’s going to help defend Amity from anybody who annoys her, and she’ll do what she can to support the girl; She’ll probably held lead cheerleading rallies for a Grudgby game or two, although Amity would likely tell her to stop, that’s excessive, and you don’t need to do that! And Sasha says that’s silly, they’re friends after all!

           I’m not sure if I can see a scenario where Sasha has control over Amity, though. Again, the Blights come across as more high-class and powerful than Sasha’s family, whatever they might be like. I think she’d be a bit like Boscha to Amity, except a lot more receptive to how this girl feels, telling her that she’s all that and has nothing to worry about; You ARE the Top Student for a reason, don’t let anybody else make you think otherwise! If your parents or siblings are mean to you, they just can’t appreciate you properly! And Amity’s going to appreciate that, but occasionally ask Sasha not to go that far- And Sasha understands, and lets it go!

           As for Amity, I can see her occasionally flexing her power and position, in a scenario where Sasha encounters someone who isn’t impressed. During social events, she’ll quietly gravitate towards Sasha for comfort and reassurance, and Sasha will instantly recognize. I don’t see her helping Sasha cheat or anything, but Amity would definitely at least help her with homework and give pointers, though she wouldn’t outright do it for her, she’s still too beholden to the rules for that.

          Anytime Amity DOES reciprocate or voluntarily show affection, it’s going to mean a lot to Sasha. I can definitely see Sasha beginning to have concerns over the abuse of Amity’s parents and how they’re indoctrinating her, and how she’d see the Emperor’s Coven as a bit toxic… But ultimately, I’m not sure if she’d be able to do much, there’s a LOT of factors to take into consideration here! I feel that should Sasha try to step in, she and Amity still wouldn’t be that close and Amity may rebuke her…

          And because they ARE actual friends, it WILL hurt Sasha, and maybe she’ll take it personally and become a bit bitter. Maybe even entitled, because she’s worked so hard to make Amity happy and protect her, and this is how she gets treated!? I can see Sasha intiating some distance at first, and Amity gets hurt by that and immediately accepts this as her new scenario and doesn’t try going back to Sasha, not because she’s better, but because she’s already screwed up and why would Sasha want to go back to her?

          But ultimately, Sasha’s going to come back because she craves social interaction, and in the end she DOES care. I can also imagine Amity and Sasha contributing some toxicity towards one another, as they never learn to actually confront these issues but just sweep them under the rug; Sasha might enable Amity’s tendency to snap and lash out, tell her she can do no wrong, while Amity would just enable and lowkey encourage Sasha’s controlling behavior over others- At the very least she won’t speak up against it.

          They wouldn’t confront one another over their flaws, especially since they may not be self-aware enough to even notice them in the first place; And in Amity’s case, she might not want to jeopardize her relationship with Sasha, and it’d go against what her parents taught her anyway. She might be a little concerned, but ultimately, what does she know? Sasha seems way more confident, she likely understands herself better than Amity does.

          Due to her lineage, I think Amity would retain the ‘power’ in the friendship, or at least not fall under Sasha’s possessive control… But Amity would still doubt herself in general and not be fully genuine. She’d see what Sasha does as typical things that loved ones do for one another because of her parents, even if Amity wouldn’t really flex this type of control over any of her friends to begin with!

          She’s not going to participate, but she won’t speak out either, and that’s going to contribute to Sasha’s own assumption that she knows and does best. Really, I see these two not quite agreeing with how the other treats people, but otherwise not objecting either! If it were up to them, Sasha and Amity would do things their own way, but besides that there’s no point in jeopardizing their friendship over such a ‘minor’ issue.

          Sasha would come across as the ‘reasonable’ friend, while Amity is more the cold and blunt one. Sometimes Sasha tells someone who bugged Amity to back off, other times she’ll reassure them, tell them that’s just how Amity is, and then invite them to be friends; While still keeping them from Amity of course!

          Amity’s fine with this, she just wants to be left alone and doen’t control who Sasha is without her. The girls at least respect each other in that way. I can definitely see Sasha as someone who can reason with Amity and get her to lower her guard a bit, maybe even reconsider her stance on another person, but that’s about it. Sasha is very much the only person who can really ‘talk’ to Amity. Sometimes she’ll get her to cool down, other times she just steps aside and/or helps defend Amity. It really depends on the mood of the day, the person in question, etc.!

           I don’t think Sasha would be able to fully understand Amity. I think she’d try to listen to Amity’s insecurities, try to give advice and understanding. But ultimately she’s someone with her own issues as well; She’s no Luz, who I think would just naturally get Amity to open up and make her a lot happier! And I can see Sasha maybe even scouting out Luz specifically for this purpose, because she seems like a cool and friendly person, and if she can make Amity happy and openly laugh, then she HAS to have her in the group!

           And… those are more or less my thoughts on how Sasha and Amity would interact, within a few different contexts! I’m not exactly an expert on either character, all of this is speculation, and I confess I don’t know Sasha as well as others… Especially given her mindset in Toadcatcher, where it seems like she’s still figuring herself out! Also, I apologize for VERY much going overboard in answering this ask… I suppose I got excited, because this is a very fascinating concept to me, and I feel obligated to fully explore it in every way I can, in order to do it justice!

[ezmarie]

Hello! I read through your matchups and I want to say they're rly cute :>> It's so cool about how much effort you put into them so I was wondering if its okay if I could request a Haikyuu matchup? (I hope its okay I submitted it)

My name's Alicia, I'm Bi but I'm more attracted to guys and I'm female(she/her). My sun sign is Gemini and my rising is Aries, INTP, ambivert and a Slytherin.

My personality, positives, negatives and such: Around new people I'd say I'm much calmer, polite and quite closed off. Some of my friends say I come off as a bit aloof to certain people or strangely kind to others. To my surprise I've had some people say I'm intimidating (like bruh why??)  In all honesty my personality really differs with who I'm with. When I'm with my friends though I'm much more outgoing and loud, I really enjoy going out with just different small groups of friends even if its just for a small lunch or anything - I just really enjoy being around those who both make me laugh and who I can make laugh. I can be really sarcastic and not afraid to have some playful banter aka: who can have the most creative insults - even if they don't make sense. I'm smart in things I enjoy and can go on and on about things i'm passionate about. I'm always looking out for my friends, making sure they don't stuff up, praising their achievements and putting them before myself. I'm pretty open-minded and flexible, say if one of my friends has a friend I dislike I'll always act nice and rarely complain and I'm good at adapting to different environments. Although I am rarely happy with my looks and I don't like trying new things with a fear of stuffing up or failing ESPECIALLY with team sports bruh. I have a bad habit of staying up until ungodly hours of the morning and not waking up until the afternoon.

Appearance: I'm 5'2/5'3-ish, half Indonesian-half British/White/Whatever, I have shoulder length fluffy/messy dark brown hair, dark brown eyes, i have a beauty spot near my nose on the right side of my face, tan-olive ish skin.

Music taste: I typically listen to pop, indie pop and sometimes alternative rock. My favourite songs though would have to be Left to Right (Marteen), Act my Age (One direction) and Scrawny (Wallows). Two playlist names I have are "Solo survival in minecraft vibes" and "pain" - Theyre weird ik LMAO

In a partner: I look for someone who can take a joke and can handle my sudden chaotic decisions and mood swings. Someone who will communicate like please tell me if im doing something wrong or right for the love of god- It would be great if they didn't mind my random touches or signs of affection and it would be cool if we could play games together :D My love language would have to be touch and words of affirmation if that helps.

Anddd thats it, I'm so so sorry if its too long and please take your time and dont overwhelm youself :((  Thank you for your time and don't forget to drink some water!!

hiii! omg thank you so much! that’s so nice🥺 i ship you withh...bokuto!!

ok this is also kinda a case of opposites attract, or at least at first glance it definitely is. bokuto is so loud and extroverted and outgoing so it’s really appreciated how youre more calm and able to somewhat tame him down a bit. he actually got so interested in you because of that, just like with akaashi he was drawn to the opposite personality to him. hes also gonna try and open you up more instead of being so closed off, like its his own little personal challenge to make you more comfortable with opening up, and once you do he’s vv happy. he loves how kind you are as well because i don’t think this bby could handle someone mean, he just needs love and support and then he’s yours forever. of course he loves playful teasing (he denies that he likes it directed at him but he actually loves it) but he wants your kinda subtle niceness in a partner. the way you put others beofre yourself helps him a lot as well because he needs and wants a lot of care so the fact that you’ll provide that for him is amazing and basically ideal. however he makes SURE you take care of yourself too, like he will not let you forget about your own needs and will make you put yourself first sometimes any way he can. sure it might take him a while to figure out your doing that, but once he does he’s gonna look out for you even closer after that. he loves how open minded you are too because it would be difficult if you weren’t open to the things he likes, like he wouldn’t be able to survive without your support. the positivity you show for the things he’s passionate about just makes him fall in love and adore you a million times more, if that was even possible.

oh my gosh he LOVES how when youre with him your whole personality just switches. no not with everything about you switches but when you become outgoing and loud he just can’t stop swooning because he loves how much laughter and enthusiasm he can hear from you which he doesn’t usually hear. it’s just when you both are loud and outgoing it’s so chaotic for everyone else but for you two it’s just fun and carefree. he’s kinda drawn to your sarcastic side because that’s not really him, and he just thinks it’s so funny when your a little annoyed and end up throwing some sarcastic snapback to someone. like i said before he loves having playful banter with you because it’s really fun, but he denies that he likes it when it’s aimed towards him. however he definitely likes it he just pretends he doesn’t. oh my goodness i can’t even explain how much he adores it when you ramble on and on about something you’re passionate about. seriously like he absolutely loves it. he thinks it’s so adorable how you get so excited and peppy when he brings up a topic you love and you can just talk about it for days on end. especially when he can see that sparkle in your eyes and just the sound of your voice, it just makes him fall in love all over again. also, he would CRUSH any insecurity you ever had, especially if it’s about your looks. he’s ADORES any body type and body size, beaty marks, skin color, hair type, height, body proportions, anything about you he will completely love. he will support and compliment you to no end to make you see how perfect you are, he will make sure you know your beauty.

i feel like bokuto really fits the description of what you like as well. he LOVES to make you laugh and is always throwing jokes around and he’s a very goofy and laughy guy, so he will laugh at your jokes all the time. he values communication as well because he doesn’t really understand when people give him subtle signs or hints, like he just won’t figure it out unless you tell him upright. so he’ll do the same to you naturally because he just assumes that you value that as well. he’s very spontaneous and just kinda goes with the flow of everything so sudden chaotic decisions wouldnt bother him a bit, actually he lives for them. he also has mood swings as well so he would totally understand what your going through when you have one and you both would know how to help eachother. bokuto might get a little offended if you playfully insult things like how he’s doing in your relationship, his playing skills, or something like that, but once you reassure him that it’s completely a joke he warms up to it. mostly everything else he understands is just teasing and the only reason he ACTS offended is because he wants you to believe he doesn’t like it, but trust me you both are very aware that he in fact loves it since he’s very easy to read. lastly, he loves loves loves random touches of affection, he seriously can get enough affection. please randomly touch him, even if it’s holding pinkies or kissing his cheek for .2 seconds he will s w o o n. here comes blushy and flustered bokuto, have fun :)) 💕

scenarios with the two of you:

•you just waiting for bokuto home and when he does he literally tackles you in a bear hug. he rambles on and on about his day and asks you about yours while also complimenting you somehow and your just sitting there giggling at his normal energized antics. he doesn’t let you leave your spot either so you two just stay there cuddling for the rest of the night.

•it was around midnight and bokuto texted you asking you if you wanted to go on a walk, obviously you were tired and confused but you could just see his pout through the screen so you went. you went on a walk while talking, well mostly him talking, and going to a random destination you didn’t know of and i’m not sure he did either. when you got too tired he carried you too(and don’t worry he’s strong as shit already and thinks it’s super easy to carry you :)) i mean look at those biceps-)

•it was in the middle of summer and you were having a bad day so bokuto took you out to someplace you didn’t know of. it ended up being a field and so you two lyed on the grass while enjoying looking at the stars and the perfect summer night breeze paired with the heat. you were playing music like scrawny by wallows and can i call you tonight by dayglow and both of your were silent, a very rare thing for both of you, especially bokuto. he wasn’t really looking at the stars though, he was looking at you.

i hope you liked this!! i loved writing it and you’re soso nice thank you for worrying about me🥺 have an amazing day and take care of yourself!! <333

[randomfandomz]

GET READY FOR A LOT OF HUSK HEADCANNONS

Im not sorry–

Depressed as f*ck so he doesnt have the modivation to take care of himself

He drinks mainly to forget, and to releive stress

Not only that but he H A T E S water(not as much as Baxter does, but he still avoids it like the plauge)

He never showers until he absolutely has to

Like his fur is always matted and alchohol scented

And he thinks licking himself clean like non-demon cats do is absolutely out of the question, it is gross and undignified, he doesnt want to lick himself and water makes his fur feel heavy and cold and he w i l l argue with you about this

He hates having fur. He just hates it. Its hard to take care of and things get stuck in it, it gets caught in things and just hhhh h h h H H - NO

Will straight up refuse to shower until Charlie makes him

Everyone in the hotel knows about shower day

The day when they make Husk take a shower because e w g r o s s o l d m a n -

Baxter somewhat sympathizes with him about his hatred of water

Not like he actually shows it or does anything to help him though- because 1) Bax really doesnt give a flying f*ck, he just wants to do science and this doesnt concern science so he couldnt care less, and 2) He doesnt wanna speak up because s o c i a l a n x i e t y . S o c i a l i n t e r a c t i o n ? N o t h a n k y o u .

Hes literally a cat, so he hates water with a burning passion

Husk's self image is kinda... ehhhhhh- I mean, its not like he really is that bad looking, if anything he looks pretty damn cool, but he honestly finds himself pretty unattractive. "The fur and wings d o n t h e l p "

Doesnt care if you call him old unless youre trying to be offensive; Hes proud of his age and experience

Even though he acts like an old man(well, he kinda is, but-) hes actually younger than Baxter, Mimzy, Alastor, Angel, and Nifty

Only Vaggie and Crymini are younger than him

When Husk first arrived at the hotel he didnt really wanna interact with anyone; New places kind of stress him out, so it took a long time for him to adjust and not snap at every little thing

Dont get me wrong, hes still a pissy alchoholic^tm, but the anger is less serious/genuine and more just because thats how he is

Husk fought in the vietnam war, and he attempted(and failed) suicide multiple times after the war until he was eventually beaten to death outside of a bar

He turned to alchoholism and gambling as a coping mechanism

Husk suffers from PTSD(Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder), along with the obvious alchoholism and gambling addiction

He is very salty/sad that he's a war vet but died in a bar fight, and wouldn't be remembered for his fighting but rather for being beaten to death in a bar while trying to drink away the feelings he had about not being welcomed home because of the way the media portrayed him and his fellow soldiers that fought in Vietnam

Upon learning that Husk is a vietnam war vet(he mentioned it while drunk off his ass- more than usual) one patron who attended the hotel for a short time told him "Welcome home doc!". Husk was surprised, as he had come to terms with the idea that he would never be thanked or welcomed for his services, but he did make sure to be maybe a bit less pissy to that particular guest. He will never forget them. It meant more to him than he would like to admit.

((I can't really think of a better reason as to why Husk would bring it up, but having seen one or two instances of someone saying "welcome home" to Vietnam war vets, I really wanted to add this. The "Welcome home doc" thing was me referencing a specific instance of this ive seen. Im so sorry if I'm wrongly portraying this in anyway, I tried to do enough research first before typing this part out, but I just wanted to point out that I tried my best to be respectful while talking about the subject.))

Moving on- L A S E R P O I N T E R S

One time Angel was just casually messing around with a laser pointer, out of boredom or something

HUSK'S RESPONSE WAS IMMEDIATE

HE WILL CHASE THAT RED DOT TO THE ENDS OF THE GODDAMN EARTH

"That DAMN RED DOT where the FUCK did iT gO!?"

He HATES that he does this, but he really cannot help it

Being a cat demon, and being Husk, his hunt and kill instinct is through the roof(hunt and kill instinct is why cats chase laser pointers btw)

Was VERY pissy for the next few weeks after this incident

Husk will purr involuntarily whenever someone pets him or strokes his fur

He WILL murder anyone who attempts to pet him or make him purr without consent(*COUGH COUGH* ANGEL *COUGH*)

Same goes for the wings DO NOT TOUCH THE WINGS, JUST DONT-

In his room, Husk's bed is literally a mound of blankets and pillows inside a box

Even he needs to get warm and comfortable after a long day

He never lets anyone in his room

Like n e v e r

Angel snuck in one night- Husk's half asleep drunken a*s shoved him out and yelled at him, waking up practically all the hotel staff and a few guests

In his defense, Angel, upon seeing the sleeping Husk, scratched behind his ears. Husk started to purr, but then snapped to somewhat conciousness, and realized what the f*ck was going on-

Yes, Husk is v e r y defensive

Give him a compliment? He wont accept it under any circumstances. He will probably be flustered and claim that the other is either lying or just kissing up to him

"You know you dont have to kiss my a*s to ask me something, right? The fuck do you want?"

Charlie honestly finds his reaction to compliments very sad

Has a kind of "well ya didnt need to point it out" attitude towards insults

Alastor insults him with the worst names in the book? He accepts it and couldnt give less f*cks

Even if its someone either than Alastor insulting him, usually even if he acts offended and p*ssed off, somewhere in his mind he just accepts it

Usually Alastor is the one insulting him, but in a "best friend rights" kind of way

He likes being creative when it comes to colorful language

"Look out to my sea of f*cks, and see how it is barren"

Doesnt have a "soft spot" for kids like Angel, but doesnt mind lessening the swearing a bit and doing a few magic tricks for the occasional child that somehow found their way to the hotel

He HISSES

If Husk is hissing at you you better f*ckin rUN-

He usually refrains from hissing- its part of him rebelling against his cat-like nature, but if he is openly hissing at you it means he is at his wits-end and is honestly P * S S E D .

sERIOUSLY, F*CKING R U N -

Crymini has a blog documenting all the cat-like things Husk does, and she sometimes does the classic "THIS IS A HUSK IN ITS NATURAL HABITAT" or "LETS SEE HOW THE KITTY REACTS TO THIS NEXT THING" bit, and Husk honestly finds it insulting as f*ck

Crymini pranked Husk with a cucumber(you know how cats on the internet are terrified of them) and Husk was actually scared of it, and he ran up a f*cking tree and wouldnt come down for a solid hour, partly put of legitimate fear, and partly out of spite from seeing the slightly guilty look on Crymini's face after the first 20 minutes of him hiding up there

Being a cat demon, alchohol is actually slightly toxic to him, and he is prone to alchohol poisoning. He usually drinks beer, which has low ammount of ethanol(5-7%)[ethanol is what makes alchohol so toxic to cats]

Baxter has a spray bottle to use on Husk if he is being particularly stubborn or bothersome. Charlie sometimes uses her own spray bottle for similar purposes, but she usually says something like "Bad kitty! No!" Along with it to tease him. Husk finds it humiliating and hates when his fur is wet, so surprisingly the spray bottle thing usually works.

He is demi-panromantic and asexual

H A T E S being touched, like under any circumstances

"The last time I voluntarily made physical contact with another being was in 1970 and it was while I was loosing a bar fight. It was also the day I was beaten to death and setenced to hell."

Bonus:

Angel: Hey kitty~! Wanna cuddle~?

Husk: The last time I voluntarily made physical contact with another being was in 1970 and it was while I was loosing a bar fight.

Angel: Oh really? *snickers* And how'd that work out for ya'?

Husk: Well, it was also the day I was beaten to death and put in hell. So I dunno. You tell me.

[caughtinkorea]

It Is What It Is

I’m almost home. I haven’t bought my ticket just yet, but believe me, I'm almost there. This last minute thing is the Naija in me lol.

I have been a whole lot happier lately. I’m more at peace with myself. I’ve been traveling a lot lately. Most recently I stopped by Okinawa for a few days. I wanted to try a different place in Japan I’d never been to and decided on a whim to go to Okinawa instead of Osaka. It’s beautiful btw. Humid... and expensive... but beautiful nonetheless. 

I’ve had time to spread a little more of my good luck charm to my friends before I leave. Little Brother and his gf were up against a couple other potential tenant candidates for a place they wanted in Australia and they got it! He asked for help correcting a letter he wanted to send to the landlord to get it, and I helped him zhuzh it up a bit. He recently sent me a thank you message saying he got it. I’m super happy for him, and he seems to be adjusting well so far. ^^

I’ve managed to figure out why my dating life in Korea has been a mess. According to J my problem stems from the fact that I like overly attractive guys.

Now, I could take this a certain way and be offended by it, but I know that’s not what he alluded to. Every time I point out someone I’m attracted to in the building, he remarks back “oh, the good looking guy over there *typical look*. He knows my type even better than Jazz lol. So, rather I take this somewhat as a compliment because he sees I have a keen eye for the delectables. Unfortunately that often means they tend to be no good.*sigh* You know they got tons of girls throwing themselves at them, and we all know that story ugh. I mean, I like what I like. I can’t help it. And that often seems to be a decent chunk of the guys that like me too...well... in a very shallow depth. Do I find myself to be the most attractive women? Definitely not, but I won’t be listening to any guy that tells me otherwise. They already have enough input everywhere else. So as long as this is the case it seems I never really stood a chance lol. But I refuse to settle *coughs* like I’ve seen so many other foreign girls do here *coughs*. I stand by my motto. If I wouldn’t settle for you in the States, I’m not gonna do it here either.

In May I made a new friend. I’ll call him Bond. I knew I wasn’t looking to meet any serious potentials, so I’d long thrown that thought out the window. I’ve had a very weird and at many times very interesting life here in Korea, and it seems like it will be that way till the very end. I’ve met too many interesting characters to count. Anyway, why do I call him Bond? Well, he’s kind of like a secret agent. I’ll leave it at that. On paper, he’s pretty perfect. He’s tall, fit, educated, well traveled, has a good job(works for the government), polite, well-mannered, and has such an attractive British-ish accent. Is he physically attractive? I mean, I guess *rolls eyes*. He’s nothing special to me, but if he ever sees this he’d probably think I’m bitter for reasons. lol  But he’s definitely cute in a big teddy-bear type of way. You know, equipped with jujitsu training, and probably knows 20 ways to disfigure a person... but that’s neither here nor there. Teddy-bear! *jazz hands*

So we’ve been keeping in touch since May. We decided to be friends, and he already knows I’m leaving very soon. We were supposed to meet before my trip to Thailand, but his work came up last minute. So that didn’t happen and my 2 week trip turned into 1 month. Oops! But we kept in touch throughout my time there. Fast forward to more recently and we finally got a chance to meet. I dressed very casually with my banged wig and he with his formal work suit. We had chicken and beer and honestly the date wasn’t anything special. He seemed tired from a long days work and maybe a little annoyed. I understand. I basically almost cancelled right before our meeting. Honestly I was a bit annoyed myself. He kept skipping over the question of what exit to meet at, and I felt he’d been acting different the last couple of days after I turned down his last minute request to meet close to where I was staying for chicken and beer since we were both apparently in the area. I had just come back from Okinawa that day and was busy preparing plans for a dress for my brother’s wedding and I just wasn’t feeling it. I was tired. So I declined. He was probably also annoyed at the fact that when we met up I let him know I’d been using a fake name previously. For safety reasons of course. He seemed to be a bit insulted by it, but shrugged it off. Guys just don’t understand. But it is what it is.

We still managed to meet for 3 hours then he payed for dinner and we said our goodbyes. Before the end, I managed to get out what he liked to do on his free time to let loose. He seemed to open up more. From what I gathered he seems very morally upright tho he does indulge in nights out. So that was good to know... I mean with his job and all, I’d definitely hope he’d be a good person. 

So Saturday comes and we decide to meet to hangout in Itaewon. He usually likes going to one particular spot with his friends so I say I’ll meet him there. When I arrive I can’t seem to spot him anywhere which was odd since he’s really tall for a Korean. I’m going around back and forth to different spots. It’s super humid out and I’m getting hot and aggravated. We keep missing each others calls and messages. After about an hour of this telephone back and forth nonsense I’d decided I’d had enough and start walking back to my guesthouse to call it a night. He calls. I’m angry, but I answer the phone. He says he’s now at a kebab place eating with one of his friends. I tell him I’ll stop over real quick to say hi. Tho I was angry and didn’t want to do it, it’d be a waste of good makeup, outfit, and night. Someone is gonna see me damn it! I’m not letting all this go to waste!

I start walking toward the restaurant. I see him and he reaches for a hug but I stick my umbrella out. Uh uh! Not with the mess you put me through going around in all this sticky heat. We walk over to the restaurant. I greet his friend and we sit and talk while they eat. Before going in he told me his friend didn’t understand any English, but when I spoke to him he seemed to understand pretty much everything just fine. Even more than him. Bond was unexpectedly quiet throughout the convo. I just kept catching him staring at me in somewhat disbelief through my peripheral every now and again. I kept asking him what he was staring at like that, but he’d change the subject and never really give an answer. I bet the whole time he was thinking “Who the heck is this!? This ain’t the same girl I met the other night.” I did clean up a bit differently. This time wearing a dress and head equipped with a long bang-less wig. So I could see why he might have been confused lol. They finish eating and the plan was for them to head home, but Bond decides he’ll stay out longer with me. His friend catches a Taxi and we head to Thursday Party.

He offers to buy me a drink so we head toward the bar. We ended up doing this coupley thing all night where we’d act like we were gf & bf every time someone approached our space. Tho we clearly saw each other as just friends. I squeezed into the side corner next to him by the register and when he turned to order some guy came to approach me. When he turned back around he caught my eyes, and angled himself to make his presence known. I leaned in to whisper in his ear and dude got the point and dipped. I enjoyed his company throughout the night. He was very fun spirited and enjoyed dancing, so we did that all night long. His demeanor was a juxtaposition from the previous night we had met up. Before he came off very calm and reserved. I loved that his big self didn’t seem to care who was watching him or what anyone thought of him. He was just out to have fun.

We eventually moved over to his favorite spot and this is when I realized his popularity with the ladies. No wonder he liked it there. Since he had been buying everything I offered to pay for the next round of drinks. We head over to the bar and I ordered. A drunk Thai girl being escorted through the crowd by one of the security guards poked her face out and sent him kissy faces. I was like “what was that?” and he rolled his eyes and we laughed it off. A few moments later he spotted a Latina heading towards him and called it out to me. This girl kept hovering around him making it very apparent she was in for the kill. She was super thirsty, but I was rather amused. But at the same time, it opened my eyes to just how disrespectful some women can be. Like I was just standing there watching as she clearly didn’t care that he was obviously entertaining another woman. Maybe she didn’t see me as a threat, but for a moment I just stood there fascinated at the disrespect. Bond wasn’t showing her any interest, but she wasn’t about to leave anytime soon. The bartender hands me our drinks and I felt like being petty, so I graciously handed one to Bond, held mine in the other hand then gently caressed his head as I looked seductively in his eyes. She got the memo and bounced immediately. XD

He loved dancing in the middle of the floor so he pulled me along and we found a spot to dance. He had such a fun spirit about him and encouraged me to dance along with him which I obliged. Through out the night people would approach us asking if we were a couple and telling us how we looked good together. We’d laugh it off and tell them we were merely friends. Others would approach us individually to swoop us up and dance, but we’d always move towards each other and angle ourselves a certain way to signal we were each others company for the night. Guys who wanted to dance with me would be lead to him by my eyes then give him a thumbs up or tell him I was pretty and he was a lucky guy. Girls would approach him, sometimes even small groups, and try to dance up on him. He would always dance towards me and I’d make my move. It was always so funny. 

At a point we adopted a cute little kgirl that approached me with compliments. Her English was limited, but she told me she loved my dimples. Bond thought she said pimples and was perplexed like “who compliments pimples? what a weird child” lmao. We danced together for a bit and she leaned over to ask Bond if I was his gf. I tried to pretend like I wasn’t even paying attention and just minding myself dancing even tho I was trying to be nosy and hear what his answer would be. I was just curious to hear what he’d say. Unfortunately I couldn’t but after telling her something that was inaudible she turns to look at me and gives me a cute cheeky grin. We all just continued dancing and we dubbed her our daughter for the night. She was precious. We headed over to the bar on the other side for another drink and I reached to get my card, but he stopped me, gave me a what are you doing?-insulted look and told me he would pay for it.  

It’s not really a big deal but he was so manly about it in a way that you don’t typically see here so it was refreshing. I can just tell he’s the type that likes to pay for everything for his girl. Yasss king! XD 

We head back to our spot on the dance floor and after some time we notice that our daughter isn’t there so we decide to go around and look for her and make sure she was okay since she was by herself. He is leading the way as I follow him through the crowd, but we momentarily get split for a few seconds, and I see this girl's hand reach out to grab him. She is just a split second too slow and barely missed grabbing him which was replaced by a bunch of air.

I am in awe of the attention this boy had been getting all night with the ladies. What is this?? The hunger games? It was fascinating. Honestly I didn’t get it. Was it because he was tall and imposing? Fascinating I say. Just fascinating.

We go back to our spot and she eventually shows up. We decide to call it a night soon after. He suggests we take a cab together and he’ll drop me off first since he believes we are headed the same direction. I let him know I’ve moved guesthouses and am now staying in Itaewon very close by. We stop for him to grab some water from the convenience store close by then finally start heading our separate ways. He gets a cab, we say our goodbyes, and he hops in. I start heading towards my guesthouse and a guy slowly riding by in a taxi sticks his head out and says “beautiful!”. I turn to the perpetrator and say “Thank-” ....

-_-

It’s Bond. He’s a whole mess! Go home Roger. XD The taxi speeds off. 

I continue walking towards my guesthouse, turn into the empty side street and right as I’m about to approach the door some kboy sneaks up behind me and speaks to get my attention. I was momentarily startled because I had unusually been unaware and he hadn’t made his presence known. I ask what he wanted and he shyly says he had been following me and wanted to tell me how pretty I was. *facepalm* Why do guys not realize how creepy that is? He was harmless so I just tell him thank you and give him a smile. He asks if that was my boyfriend. “Huh? Who are you talking about?” The guy that was in the cab. “How long have you been following me?” Since y’all were at the convenience store. CHIIIILLLLEEEE!!! smh I saw him leave and knew he wasn’t your bf. So I got courage and wanted to tell you you are my ideal type and I just wanted to see if you’d grab some drinks with me and just talk. “Umm, where is there a place around here to drink?” He tells me that every place around here is closed so let’s grab some drinks in the store and go to a hotel and chat. 

Kboys ladies and gentlemen! Kboys

[qforqazaq]

Ninety One – Men Emes

Okaaaay, people, here comes a long-awaited comeback from Ninety One that screamed, no, shouted so much culturally significant meta at me I could barely handle it. Ironically, when I was watching reactions to this MV, most people were so bloody oblivious to anything that was happening on the screen that I was painfully restraining myself not to slam my head on the table, but then remembered "oh, right, that's why I'm running this blog in the first place."

Okay, let's start with the video, shall we?

The opening scene is obviously with Alem because if 91's song doesn't start with Alem there's something definitely wrong with it.

Anyway, we have Alem looking like a mo-fo mafia boss, a Kazakh Don, if you like, in an office that's practically littered with KZ references. First, your eyes might catch those weird looking symbols on the desk, which are actually Orkhon-Yenisei runes - a script of Old Turkic tribes aka one of the direct ancestors of Kazakhs - that I was going to talk about for ages, but didn't have a good excuse to. So thank you Ninety One for bringing that up, I can unleash my inner linguistics nerd upon people regarding the subject in a separate post. The runes are actually read from right-to-left (because that's how it works) as "l" and "r", although I'm not sure of their implied meaning here. My theory that means just that: "left" and "right", for whatever deep reason.

So, while you're admiring Alem's outfit and hairstyle as he's showing off his results of perfecting The Stare™ (I had a theory his stares are so intent because his contact lenses keep drying up and it's his attempts not to blink much when cameras are on), you notice not only that Samsung is the main sponsor of this production (is it surprising?), but also that there's a picture of random people on the background, and a funny-looking statue next to the window. Except for that is not a picture of random people, that is actually a photo of the leaders of the Kazakh national movement/autonomy against Communists in the 1910s - Alash Orda, which I'm probably going to elaborate on in another post. For now, I'll just say that these were the writers, poets, social and political activists, the Kazakh Intelligentsia™, who were later prosecuted and repressed by the Soviet regime. Very important addition to the set if you ask me, and very deliberately chosen.

As for the funny-looking statue, that is a miniature "Balbal" of Kültegin or Kül Tigin, who was the General of the Second Turkic Khanate of the same Old Turkic people who used to write in the aforementioned Orkhon-Yenisei runic script. We can talk about it later on, for now, I can only say that 10 seconds into the video and my inner history nerd was screaming very much delightedly at these references. Didn't expect that much meta in such a short amount of time, eh? And we didn't even mention how cigars are allowed now, along with the whiskey-looking tea in a tumbler.

Anyway, then we are abruptly cut to AZ and, shortly after, ZAQ with an eagle. And no, it's not just a "lol, look, a bird", that's the Golden Eagle, a species that was trained and used for eagle hunting by the Kazakh nomads for centuries. Which is why we have it on our flag too. Btw, extra kudos to ZAQ for delivering his lines while having an eagle on his arm without its hood. I would have been more than slightly concerned if I were him.

If you don't know much about that aspect of nomadic life in Central Asia, I recommend watching the critically acclaimed documentary film The Eagle Huntress about Aisholpan - a 13 y.o. Kazakh girl from Mongolia being the first female mastering the art. FYI, it is narrated by Daisey Ridley aka Rey from Star Wars. Watch it.

The scene is black and white, and AZ and ZAQ are wearing suits which look very agreeable.

Then, we have the bridge that is delivered by very blond Bala, which isn't the best look on him in my opinion, but he's wearing a suit too, which is always a good idea. Bala, you must know, has perfected his camera acting and now successfully flirting with it without so much as breaking a sweat. Good job Juz, you know what you're doing.

Now, when we're done sharing niceties, can we, please, focus on the background - which is, of course, all lofty and fiery - specifically, on those symbols carved on the wall? And what are they? Yes, you guessed right: the Orkhon-Yenisei runes, yay. FYI, it says "QAZAQ", in its very palindromic fashion - the meaning here, I assume, is quite self-explanatory.

In one of the cuts we see that Bala is actually there with a dog. And, guess what, it's not just a dog, it's actually a Tazy - the Kazakh national hunting breed, of which, quite frankly, I did not know anything before researching for this MV. See, even I'm being educated here, I feel so enlightened.

After that, we have the chorus, and all five of them are first standing and then walking like a bloody band of gangsters, all suited and effortlessly cool, as if towards an important tét-a-tét with a competing band. My immediate association was Crows: Zero (I'm sure, my fellow Japanese weeboos get what I mean) - lots of shonen swag and badassery. I approve.

In the meanwhile, Bala is showing off his moves, again, very at ease, chill and relaxed.

Chorus moves to the second part of the song with another rap verse from ZAQ. Do you remember that set in the previous black-and-white scene with the rappers? This one is that same set i.e. a carcass and insides of a Yurt - a traditional nomadic portable house used by Kazakhs for centuries. We see ZAQ sitting in what looks like a Khan's throne with battle spears and fur skins of wild animals. And no, nobody is trying to offend animal rights activists and humanists, just trying to showcase the culture here, alright? As you've noticed hunting has always had cultural significance for Kazakhs, and, well, it's survival in the bloody Eurasian steppes we're talking about here, with windy -50°C in the winters you've got to wear something to protect from freezing over, you know.

ZAQ delivers his lines in his usual very efficient fashion, and we cut to Ace walking over to the race track, very stylishly so that it might as well be a car commercial, to a parked Ford Mustang (and, yay, we've got a budget for a nice car now!) that's drifting its tires out in the shots in-between. Did I mention Ace's wearing a suit? I'm telling you, a car commercial.

I have a feeling that a Mustang was chosen deliberately, a subtle shoutout to horses as another culturally significant symbol and animal for Kazakhs. They could've gone for a Ferrari for the sheer visual effect of it, but I suppose Samsung is generous, but not that much.

And then, we have a chorus with a dance break. Interestingly, despite the numerous cuts and camera angles, and even blinding background lights that obscure the view, I did not mind how the dance was shot. The choreography itself is nothing short of cool: very laid-back, effortless, with easy open moves and a masterfully feigned nonchalance. I know I'm using cool and effortless a lot, but what can I do, they are the keywords for this MV. I like those claps btw, remind me of hilarious dances in Kazakh weddings lol. Very ironic. In either case, my compliments to Asiya for her work, bravo.

While you're still getting over the choreography, you're introduced to AZ casually lying among many ladies in night gowns, and yes, we now are allowing this too along with cigars and whiskey-looking teas in tumblers. Don't get me wrong, AZ is wearing a modest pair of black silk shirt with black trousers (can't say the same about his wild tricoloured mess of hair), and evidently still can't take his hands off his nose (he does keep rubbing it), but the whole scene, the wide shot of it, looks so unapologetically hedonistic that it might as well be a Gucci Guilty commercial. Well, Ninety One definitely went all Gucci in this MV, so associations are unsurprising. Scrumptious.

The only cultural reference we've got here is the neon rune "r" on the background when AZ is sitting up.

Then, it goes back to the chorus with the guys standing with more fire in the background. There are other cuts from previous scene including the one with Alem throwing off 10000 Tenge bills with that photo on the back while staring into the camera.

Conclusion? A+ to the production team, especially set designers, Bibotta for the styling, and Yerbolat for knowing what looks good and what doesn't.

All and all, it was a good MV, a good break from artificially colourful secluded studio sets.

Now let's move to the music.

The song starts with, what I thought, those weird sounds from some Japanese instruments, but upon hearing the chorus my immediate reaction was "wait, is it a hip-hop beat from the early 2000s?"

Honestly, it isn't a very pop song. It screams hip-hop, and I dare say, this song was meant to be performed by the rappers only, which was somewhat proven true given that AZ and ZAQ were both writers and composers of Men Emes. Its hip-hop nature shows even in the structure: there are no vocal verses, only a bridge and a chorus performed by the vocalists, and everything else is just rap. And oh my, that's some rap, indeed.

First, can we just address, that once again the rappers of 91 managed to sneak up another controversial line bordering with vulgarity? I am talking about the first two lines of AZ's rap here, those who don't know what I am talking about, ask me about it later. The audacity though, huh. In either case, that got an incredulous chuckle out of me upon realisation. Congratulations, boys, mischief's managed.

AZ was his extravagant self in general, wouldn't say he brought a lot of literary value in this track, to be honest. Well, especially compared to ZAQ (and it is always difficult to compete with ZAQ's lyrics), who's just unleashed the study of "how many words and rhymes with "u" and "ü" sounds I can shove into one rap verse while making it sound intelligible and meaningful." And did so successfully, I must say. Personally was always astonished how masterfully he manages to use the vowel harmony - one of the linguistic traits of the Kazakh language - weaving syllables to the whole other level of wordplay. Lyrically, all cultural references in the MV seem justified, given how ZAQ is lamenting over how "his nation is moving with a snail speed" and such. With this, he is brushing the socio-political problems in the country, it seems. And it is very promising, as in this country high profile artists don't risk doing that.

(Btw, a mention of Surtur was another delightful nod to my inner nerd who loves Norse Mythology, and a reference to Cthulhu was rather amusing. Lovecraft wouldn't've minded.)

I had many problems with voices in this track. For some reason, I couldn't recognise half of them. I only clearly heard Bala, Ace's voice became obvious only when he moved to an octave higher, and I didn't even realise it was Alem singing in the beginning. Was very shocked to know that it was ZAQ, not AZ, rapping with that higher voice in the second part before switching to his usual old school style. We're trying different things, I see, though I wouldn't mind them toning down their tuner game a bit. I know who's singing what now only thanks to the MV.

To sum up, it's a very different 91 song. Not that it's very astounding in its originality with blending different genres in one as you'd expect, but it's probably refreshing to hear something bold, audacious, yet simple, very hip-hopesque circa 2001 from them. It seems they're deliberately trying to diversify their audience throwing a track like that. Which isn't bad at all, I rather enjoyed it. (By the way, those drums in the bridge section sounded almost tribal. Just saying.)

Despite the MV and song screaming "WEALTH", "SWAG", "COOL" and "SUAVE", I do not actually think it was only about showing off. Well, of course, a part of the message was a la "look what I've got in the end, despite all your judgement" with "you're not me" and all that. However, I think it was also targeting and mocking the spoiled kids of corrupt government officials or just corrupt rich "bosses" in general who always act as if rules and law are not made for them. "Yeah, you're cool, but not the coolest, might be rich, but not the richest, and even good-looking but not really. Don't be so full of yourself, you're not the centre of the universe" kind of message. And that imagery of Alem as a mafia boss in his office is juxtaposed with all those cultural artifacts hinting on what is actually more important and valuable, especially with the Kazakh cultural leaders of the 20th century watching from the picture on the wall. And Alem throws those bills as if saying "yes, I'm doing that, but it's just money, so what." Even AZ looks somewhat lost and empty-eyed lying there among girls when he's not trying to convince you how envious you should be right now.

Probably it's me reading too much into this, I don't know, but the MV only amplified the feeling that you've got to read between the lines, it isn't all about bragging.

For now I'll give the MV 9 out of 10, and the song is a solid 7.

Peace out ✌️

[optomstudies]

Hi Optomstudies! I'm an introverted person and I’m okay with that but that means I can be socially awkward at times. I often don't have much to say to people and find it hard to continue conversations or reply enthusiastically and sometimes it takes me a while to think of how to reply ahaha ==’. I’d like to be a bit more like you :) What could I do to change things a bit? Thanks :D

Hello! I’m a bit of an introvert as well, though people usually think I’m an extrovert when I talk to them hahaha It’s true that sometimes you end up not clicking with people even if you try your best to start conversation, but with most people if you try little things, you’ll eventually get them to open up and the conversation flows almost automatically! 

I’m a big believer in honesty though, so I dislike platitudes and pretentiousness in conversation. At the same time, I also dislike when people say things that can be construed as having a double meaning and are offensive in a subtly passive aggressive way, just to set that straight and to somewhat explain the underlying reasoning behind my advice and what I believe in. I’m pretty sure that my advice is generic though, and even I struggle to follow every step when I’m feeling exhausted haha

As an introvert, meeting people drains your energy by definition, but remember that small things you can do don’t really take that much extra energy, especially when you think about it as being a way to make other people feel welcome and appreciated. It’s all a state of mind - there’s no conservation of energy when it comes to the energy to talk to others hahaha I also try and think that every single interaction you have with a person will (generally) make them like you more (provided you are actually talking nicely and being likeable). So whenever I was sitting at home thinking “idk… would it be awkward to suddenly send them a message” I would tell myself this to overcome that little procrastination speedbump. 

Try and compliment people in little ways - honestly and sincerely though! I had this classmate who honestly and truly believes that she is doing a good thing; every morning she saw me (or anyone else) she would try and compliment something about what I was wearing, even if just to say “that’s an interesting pattern you’re wearing today! :)”. I get this approach, and it can definitely cheer people up, make their day. I do believe that she thinks it’s either a way to make the world happier or a part of social convention, and I get that approach. I don’t believe it’s lying at any point either. But when I try and compliment someone, I don’t want to point out something just for the sake of pointing it out; complimenting should be honest and sincere, even when it’s something you wouldn’t wear yourself but the other person pulls it off spectacularly. Too many compliments to every person you see kind of lessens the meaning behind them. 

Try and look happy to see someone - give them a sincere smile, and lift the inflection of your greeting - not just a “hey there”, but a “hey! :)” (much easier for girls, but guys can do it too) Everyone wants to talk to someone that they think wants to listen to them, yourself included right? So even just leaning forward a little bit when you speak to them conveys your interest and appreciation. This is hard to do when you’re feeling emotionally exhausted I know, but you can always take a break :)

Keep asking questions. Kind of an age-old adage now, but everyone’s heard the fact that people love talking about themselves right? So just let them do the hard work. If you don’t have much to say to people, then just ask them and get them to say what they want. On the other hand, also volunteer a little information about yourself after you’ve heard them expound about their experiences. As a talkative person, I absolutely hate it when the other person just continues to grill me with questions, and force me to keep asking “what about you?” Conversation is a two-way street, so I shouldn’t have to prompt you to just say “oh hey me too, I also like _______”. 

Sometimes it’s hard to reply enthusiastically; you might have no idea about the topic someone is really passionate about. This is me with sport honestly lol I am terrible at it and it consequently leads to me tuning out (not on purpose!) when someone starts explaining in depth rules and gameplay. My advice is to maintain eye contact with them and listen attentively, although don’t call me an expert on this particular area. Eventually because you naturally don’t know about a topic, or naturally have no interest, your responses will become answers rather than discussions. Most of the time the other person notices and changes the topic. 

I have met the occasional person who continues to talk your ear off even though your eyes have started to glaze over though (at which point it becomes apparent that the other person has the problem with conversational skills). In that situation, try and change the topic smoothly. Think of something, anything else that is remotely related, and wait for a lull in conversation before asking them “oh btw….” I know it sounds overly simplistic, but it works! Make sure it’s really smooth though - it has to be a slightly related topic, or else the other person might be offended. It’s a way of taking control of the conversation. You can even just stop them and say “okay so what happened at the end?” - this forces them to summarise and cut to the chase. That’s a tip I got from a friend actually. 

That ended up being a bit of an essay hahahaha hope it helps though! ^__^